The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-10-19

hour at which closed the cruclh1lon, dnd
sit ander the sycamores and by the side OF
the brooks, and think and dream and pray
about the poverty Of Him. who came our
souls to save. But you and will probably
be denied that, and so here, inIanother eontl-
nsnt and in another hemisphene, and IN scenes
Is different aS possible, we. recount as well
as we may how poor our heavenly Prince be-
came. And in the other holy land above we
may all study the riches that BE left behind
when He started for His.earthly expedition.
Come, let us bargain to meet each other at
the door Of the Fathers mansion, or on the
bank of the river just where it rolls from
under the throne, or at the outside gate.
Jesus got the contrast by exchanging that
world for this; we will get it by exchanging
this world for that. There and then you will
understand more of the wonders of the grace
Of our Lord Jesus Christ who, Though he
was rich, yet for your sakes became poor"
Yes grace, free grace, sovereign grace,
omnipotent grace Among the thousands of
words Of the language there IS no more queen
ly word. 1t means free and unmerited kind
ness. Ny text has no monopoly Of the word.
One hundred and twenty-nine times does the
Bible eulogize grace 1t is door swung wide
open to let into tho pardon of God all the
millions who choose to enter it.
John Newton sang OF it when he wrote:
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved wretch like me!
Philip Doddridge put it into hymnology
when he wrote:
Grace! 'tis charming sound,
Harmonious to the ear;
Heaven with the echo shall resound
And al the world shall hear.
One of John Bunyan's great books is en-
TITLED "Abounding Grace" ut is all OF grace
that am saved" has been on the lips Of hun
dreds of dying Christians. The boy Sammy
was right when, being examined for admis-
sion into church membership, he was asked:
"Whose work was your salvationF' and he
answered: "Part mine and part Gods" Then
the examiner asked: "What part did you do,
Sammy?" and the answer was: II opposed
God all could, and he did the rest" Oh,
the height of it, the depth Of it, the length OF
it, the breadth of 1.-THE grace of God! MIR:
Fletcher having written a pamphlet that
pleased the King, the King offered to eompen-
sate him, and Fletcher answered: There is
only one thing want, and that is more
grace" Yes, my blood bought hearers grace
to live by, grace to die BY. Grace that
saved the publican, that saved Lydia, that
saved the dying thief, that saved the Jailer,
that saved me- But the riches of that grace
will not be fully understood until heaven
breaks in upon the soul An old Scotch
man, who had been a soldier in one OF the
European wars, was sick and dying in one
of our American hospitals His one desire
was to see Scotland and his old home;
and once again walk the heather OF
the Highlands, and hear the bagpipes
of the Scotch regiments. The night that the
old Scotch soldier died young man, some
what reckless but kind-hearted, got COM
pany Of musicians to come and play under
the old soldiers window, and among the In.
that the musicians began the dying old man
in deirium said: "What's that? what's that!
why, it's the regiments coming home; That's
the tune; yes, that's the tune. Thank God, !
have got home once more!" "Bonny Scotland
and Bonny Deon" were the last words he ut
! tered as he passed up to the highlands OF the
better country. And there are here to-day
hundreds homesick for heaven; some because
you have so many bereavements, some Do
cause you have 80 many temptations, some
because you have 80 many ailments; nome.
sick, very homesick, for the fatherland OF
heaven, and the music that you want TO near
now is the song of free grace, and the music
yon want to hear when you die is free grace,
and forever before the throne OF God you
will sing of the "grace OF our LORD jesus
Christ, who, though ne was rlch' LOT your
sakes became poor"
Yes yes: Tor your sakes! 1t was not on
pleasure excursion that he came, for it was
ali main. It was not on astronomical explor-
alton. for he knew this world as well before
he aliphted as afterward. 1t was not because
he was compelled to come, for he volunteered.
1t was not because it was easy, for ne knew
that it would be thorn, and spike, and hun
ger, and thirst, and vociferatlon OF angry
mobs. For your sakes! Wipe away your
/ tears. To forgive your wrong-doing. to COM
oanfonship YOUR loneliness, 20 soouhe your
sorrows, to sit with you by the new-made
! grave, to bind up your wounds in the ugly
battle with the world anu bring you home at
! last, kindling up the mists that tall on your
diving vision with the sunlight of glorious
morn For your sakes! No, will change
! that. Paul will not care and Christ will not
care if change it, for I must get into the
hlessedness of the text myself, and so say:
: HFor our sakes ~ For we all have our temp
! tatious, and bereavements, and conflicts
! For our sakes Wc,who deseryefo our sins
! to be expatriated into world as much poorer
! than this earth as TINS eartn Is poorer IMAM
! heaven. For our sakes /!
: But what fruitful coming down to take
! us glorionsly up. When ArtaIer4es was
. hunting. Tirebazus, who was attending him,
showed the King rent in his garment The
| King said: 'How shall 1 mend it," by CIV
| inc t to me-" said Tirebazus. Then the King
: gave him the rope, but commanded MN meyer
70 wear it, as it would be inappropriate. Sec
! the startling and comforting fact, while our
! Prince throws off the habit he not only al
lows us to wear it. but commands us to wear
il. and it will become us well, and for the pov-
critics of our spiritual state we may put on
the splendors of heavenly regalement. For
our sakes! Oh, the personality of this re-
, ligion! Not an abstraction, not an
! arch under which we walk to behold elabo-
! rate masonry, not an ice castle like that
| which Empress Elizabeth, of Russia, over
| 100 years ago ordered constructed, winter
with its trowel Of crystal cementing the huge
blocks that had been quarried from the
frozen rivers of the north, but fathers
house with wide hearth cracking a hearty
welcome. A region of warmth and lRsplra-